BHUBANESWAR: Puri police busted a gang of pickpockets from West Bengal and arrested 14 of its members who were allegedly targeting devotees during the Rath Yatra. The police arrested five pickpockets from Andhra Pradesh, two each from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and seven from Odisha. Around 48 mobile phones were seized from the pickpockets and 16 devices were handed over to their rightful owners.
Anticipating a huge crowd, Puri police had formed seven teams to check snatching and thefts. Plainclothed police were also part of the teams and deployed in various locations. Teams were deployed near the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration office, Marchikota Chhak, Balagandi and Gundicha temple. The police traced 24 missing persons and reunited them with their families on the same day.
“Twelve missing police aid posts were set up for tourists in different areas of the town. We had banners mentioning people, who got separated from their families due to the rush, to visit the aid post,” said Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh.
Within 24 hours, 24 people from various parts of Odisha, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh were reunited with their families. Singh thanked nine petrol pumps on NH-316 for accepting the police’s request of putting up flex boards displaying that their toilets can be used by women. “We had requested petrol pumps to keep their toilets clean and make drinking water available for commuters, especially women,” he said.